OK, here's the scoop on the outcome of today's La Salle auction.
First off, it turns out there was not one Apple 1 at auction, but two! The
lots consisted of the following:
Lot: Seller anonymous. Apple 1 computer (no serial #), keyboard, original
manual, 2 canceled checks. SOLD for $18,000 to a Captain O'Mahony of
London, England.
Lot: Seller, Jeff Raskin. 3 computers in lot. Apple 1 computer (serial #
4), Apple II computer (serial # 2), Millionth Macintosh with Plaque (one of
6). UNSOLD at a starting price of $90,000.
I believe this is the first verifiable recorded public sale of an Apple 1,
with the exception of the old Computer Bowl charity auction, which doesn't
really count.
PURE SPECULATION: The guy I bought my SWTPC 6800 from at VCF 2.0 said he had
an Apple 1 that he was going to have sold at an "auction house in the bay
area" in the coming year. I'm willing to bet that the anonymous seller was
this guy. I recall that somebody in our core community (Marvin? Doug
Coward?) knew this guy and could verify this.
Kai